Transnet joins the downgrade casualties
State-owned freight and logistics company says S&P downgraded its long-term foreign and local currency ratings to subinvestment grade but maintained its standalone credit profile at BBB
State-owned freight and logistics company Transnet said on Friday that S&P Global Ratings has downgraded its long-term foreign and local currency ratings to subinvestment grade in line with its sovereign currency rating downgrade on Monday. However, S&P had maintained Transnet’s standalone credit profile at BBB, reflecting the company’s stable finances as it continued a multibillion rand capital expenditure programme, Transnet said in a statement. About 26% of the company’s debt portfolio had a subinvestment-grade trigger, but Transnet had renegotiated this between May and November 2016, the company said. “S&P’s affirmation and acknowledgement of the critical role that Transnet plays in SA’s economy as a provider of essential infrastructure services is testament of the strong and agile manner in which Transnet management is navigating the tough macroeconomic challenges,” Transnet group CEO Siyabonga Gama said in the statement. The ratings agency had cited in its decision that the co...
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